List of people from Tennessee
The following is a list of prominent people who were born in the U.S. state of Tennessee, live (or lived) in Tennessee, or for whom Tennessee is significant part of their identity: A *Roy Acuff (1903–1992), musician; born in Maynardville *Charlie Adams, drummer *Lily Afshar, classical guitarist, University of Memphis music professor *James Agee (1909–1955); Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, screenwriter, poet, critic; born in Knoxville *The Aldridge Sisters, singing duo on The Lawrence Welk Show (1977–1982) *Jessi Alexander (born 1976), singer-songwriter; born in Jackson *Lamar Alexander (born 1940), lawyer and U.S. Senator; born in Maryville *Duane Allman (1946–1971), guitarist; born in Nashville *Gregg Allman (born 1947), singer-songwriter, musician; born in Nashville *Jarrod Alonge (born 1993), comedian and musician; lives in Chattanooga *Monroe Dunaway Anderson, banker, cotton trader; from Jackson *William R. Anderson (1921–2007), naval officer, politician; born in Humphreys County *Jessica Andrews (born 1983), singer *Jill Andrews, singer-songwriter, musician, born in Johnson City *Lil Hardin Armstrong, jazz musician, wife of Louis Armstrong; from Memphis *Eddy Arnold (1918–2008), singer; born in Henderson *Victor Ashe, Knoxville mayor, Ambassador to Poland; born in Knoxville *Chet Atkins (1924–2001), guitarist and record producer; born in Luttrell *Doug Atkins (born 1930), Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end primarily with Chicago Bears *Rodney Atkins (born 1969), singer; born in Knoxville B *DeFord Bailey (1897–1982), musician, Grand Ole Opry performer; from Smith County *Howard Baker (1925–2014), politician, U.S. Senator and White House Chief of Staff; born in Huntsville *Robert Baker (born 1979), actor; born in Memphis *Nathan L. Bachman (1878–1937), U.S. Senator *Ed Bailey (1931–2007), baseball player *Kelsea Ballerini (born 1993), singer; born in Mascot, grew up in Knoxville *George Franklin Barber (1854–1915), architect; lived in Knoxville *Ronnie Barrett (born 1954), firearms manufacturer; born in Murfreesboro *Ross Bass (1918–1993), U.S. Senator *William M. Bass (born 1928), forensic anthropologist *William B. Bate (1826–1905), governor and U.S. Senator *Daren Bates (born 1990), football player; born in Memphis *Kathy Bates (born 1948), Academy Award-winning actress; born in Memphis *Kate Batts (also known as The Bell Witch), mythic poltergeist *Robin Beard (1939–2007), politician; born in Knoxville *Casey Beathard, songwriter; from Spring Hill *Brian Bell (born 1968), guitarist; from Knoxville *John Bell (1796–1869), politician, Secretary of War under William Henry Harrison; from Mill Creek *Bill Belichick (born 1952), head coach of New England Patriots; born in Nashville *Jeff Bennett (born 1980), baseball pitcher; born in Donelson *Aaron Benward (born 1973), singer *Polly Bergen (born 1930), actress, singer, entrepreneur; born in Knoxville *Steven Berk (born 1949), physician and author; lived in Johnson City *George L. Berry (1882–1948), U.S. Senator *Mookie Betts (born 1992), baseball player; born in Brentwood *Greg Bird (born 1992), baseball player; born in Memphis *Tarik Black, basketball player *Joe Blanton (born 1980), baseball pitcher; born in Nashville *Jerry Blevins (born 1983), baseball pitcher; born in Johnson City *William Blount (1749–1800), statesman, governor and senator *Willie Blount (1768–1835), early governor of Tennessee *Julian Bond (1940–2015), activist, politician; born in Nashville *Alexander Bonnyman, Jr. (1910–1943), decorated U.S. Marine; raised in Knoxville *Arna W. Bontemps (1902–1973), poet and novelist *Maci Bookout, reality-TV personality *Pat Boone (born 1934), singer and actor; raised in Nashville *Rachel Boston (born 1982), actress; born in Chattanooga *Charles Boyce, syndicated cartoonist *Craig Wayne Boyd (born 1978), singer, winner of NBC's The Voice season 7; resides in Nashville *Richard Henry Boyd (1843–1922), founder, National Baptist Publishing Board *Jarrett Boykin (born 1989), football player; born in Chattanooga *Rod Brasfield (1910–1958), comedian *Corey Brewer (born 1986), basketball player; from Portland *Bill Brock (born 1930), U.S. Senator and U.S. Secretary of Labor *Rex Brothers (born 1987), baseball player; born in Murfreesboro *Clarence Brown (1890–1987), film director; attended school in Knoxville *John C. Brown (1827–1889), governor *Marlon Brown (born 1991), football player; born in Memphis *Neill S. Brown (1810–1896), governor *Gordon Browning (1889–1976), governor *Jonathan Browning (1805–1879), maker of firearms; born in Sumner County *William Gannaway Brownlow (1805–1877), editor and governor *James M. Buchanan, economist, Nobel laureate *John P. Buchanan (1847–1930), governor *Josh Bullocks (born 1983), football player; born in Chattanooga *Frances Hodgson Burnett (1849–1924), English-born author; settled near Knoxville *Morgan Burnett, football player; born in Memphis *Kenneth C. Burns (1920–1989), musician, "Jethro" of Homer and Jethro *Charles Burson (born 1944), chief of staff for Al Gore; grew up in Shelby County *Jake Butcher (born 1936), banker and politician *Derrick Byars (born 1984), basketball player; born in Memphis *Joseph W. Byrns (1869–1936), 14-term congressman; born in Cedar Hill C *Matt Cain, baseball pitcher *Mike Caldwell, football player *Duke Calhoun, football player *Mickey Callaway, baseball pitcher, coach *Archie Campbell, entertainer, Hee Haw star *William B. Campbell, governor *Guy Carawan, folk musician *Hattie Caraway, politician *Dixie Carter, actress *Kellye Cash, 1987 Miss America *June Carter Cash, singer *Rosanne Cash, singer *David Catching, singer *John Catron, Supreme Court justice *Tracy Caulkins, Olympic gold-medalist swimmer (born in Minnesota) *Benjamin F. Cheatham, Confederate general *Doc Cheatham, musician *Kitty Cheatham, singer *Richard Boone Cheatham, 19th-century mayor of Nashville *Richard Cheatham, 19th-century congressman *John R. Cherry III, film director *Kenny Chesney, singer *Henry Cho, comedian *Tyson Clabo, football player *Philander P. Claxton, educator *Jim Clayton, housing developer *Mark E. Clayton, politician *Frank G. Clement, governor of Tennessee *Chad Clifton, football player *Randall Cobb, football player *Fred Coe, television producer and director *Michael Coe, football player *Lynnette Cole, Miss USA 2000 *Mark Collie, singer *Britton Colquitt, football player *Dustin Colquitt, punter for NFL's Kansas City Chiefs *Darby Conley, cartoonist *Lester Conner, basketball player and coach *John Cooper, musician, lead singer of Christian rock band Skillet *Prentice Cooper, governor *John I. Cox, governor *Morgan Cox, football player *Zack Cozart, baseball player *James Craig, actor *David "Davy" Crockett, frontiersman, politician, hero of the Alamo *Dixie Lee Crosby, early 19th-century entertainer *Edward Hull "Boss" Crump, politician, former mayor of Memphis *John Cullum, actor *Benny Cunningham, football player *Lowell Cunningham, comic-book writer *Miley Cyrus, singer D *Orleans Darkwa, football player *Jeremy Davis, musician (originally from Arkansas) *Bill Dedman, journalist *Beauford Delaney, painter *Tony Delk, basketball player *Rick Dempsey, baseball player *George Roby Dempster, inventor *Jamie Denton, actor *Dale Dickey, actress *R.A. Dickey, baseball pitcher *Bobby Dodd, football coach *Shannen Doherty, actress *Andrew Jackson Donelson, diplomat *Desmond Doss, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, WWII *Aaron Douglas, painter *Josh Drake, music educator *Johnny Duncan, singer *King Dunlap, football player *Natalia Dyer, actress E *Justin Townes Earle, musician *Edward H. East, acting governor *William Edmondson, folk art sculptor *Dan Evins, founder of Cracker Barrel F *Nikki Fargas, basketball coach; grew up in Oak Ridge *David Farragut, admiral *Josh Farro, musician *Zac Farro, musician *Jerome Felton, football player *Larry Finch, basketball player *Ric Flair, wrestler *Lester Flatt, musician *Bruce Fleisher, golfer *Shelby Foote, author *Harold Ford, Jr., politician *Tennessee Ernie Ford, entertainer *Nathan Bedford Forrest, American Civil War officer, founder of the Ku Klux Klan *Logan Forsythe, baseball player *Abe Fortas, U.S. Supreme Court justice *Ramon Foster, football player *Megan Fox, actress *Aretha Franklin, singer *Aubrayo Franklin *James B. Frazier, governor *Morgan Freeman, Academy Award-winning actor *Bill Frist, physician and politician *Phillip Fulmer, football coach G *A. H. Garland (1832–1899), politician; born in Tipton County *Phil Garner, baseball player and manager *Marc Gasol, basketball player *Jim Gilliam, baseball player *Nikki Giovanni, educator *Guilford Glazer, land developer *Ernest William Goodpasture, physician *Ginnifer Goodwin, actress *Al Gore, former Tennessee Senator, 45th Vice President of the United States under Bill Clinton (1993–2001), and 2000 Democratic nominee for president *Albert Gore, Sr., politician, senator, father of Al Gore *Yo Gotti, rapper *Lou Graham, golfer, 1975 U.S. Open champion *Aaron Grant, football player *Sonny Gray, baseball player *Justin Grimm, baseball player *Red Grooms, artist H *Wayne Haddix, football player *Lucy Hale, actress and singer; Pretty Little Liars *Alex Haley, author *George Hamilton, actor *Ken Hamlin, football player *W.C. Handy, composer *Anne Haney, actress *William Happer, physicist *Penny Hardaway, basketball player *Chris Hardwick, comedian, actor, television personality, and host of At Midnight with Chris Hardwick; born in Kentucky but raised in Memphis *Greg Hardy, football player *Bob Harper, personal trainer *George "Two Ton" Harris, wrestler *Isham G. Harris, governor and U.S. Senator *Mary Styles Harris, biologist, geneticist *Phil Harris, actor, singer, bandleader *Nicole Taylor Hart, songwriter *Dennis Haskins, actor *James Haslam Jr., businessman, owner of NFL's Cleveland Browns *Trenton Hassell, basketball player *Donald Hawkins, football player *Whit Haydn, magician *Isaac Hayes, musician and actor *Henry D. Haynes, "Homer" of Homer and Jethro *Thomas "The Hitman" Hearns, boxer *Todd Helton, baseball player *Christina Hendricks, actress *Elaine Hendrix, actress *Jim Hickman, baseball player *Dont'a Hightower, football player *Hunter Hillenmeyer, football player *Thomas C. Hindman, Confederate general *Will Hoge, musician *Charles O. (Chad) Holliday, chief executive officer of Bank of America *Rick Honeycutt, baseball pitcher and coach *The Honky Tonk Man, professional wrestler *John Jay Hooker, attorney *Benjamin Hooks, minister, NAACP director *Ben W. Hooper, governor *Ed Hooper, author *Myles Horton, educator *Sam Houston, soldier and politician *Bailey Howell, basketball player *Allan B. Hubbard, National Economic Council Director *Dakota Hudson, baseball player *Dick Hudson, football player *Thomas Hughes, English author of Tom Brown's School Days; founded Rugby, Tennessee *Yolanda Hughes-Heying, IFBB professional bodybuilder *Cordell Hull, U.S. Secretary of State; recipient, Nobel Peace Prize *Claude Humphrey, football player *Con Hunley, singer *Courtney Hunt, screenwriter and director *Alberta Hunter, blues singer *Les Hunter, basketball player *Dennis Hwang, graphic artist J *Juicy J, rapper and producer *Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States (1829–1837) *Howell Edmunds Jackson, Supreme Court Justice *Quinton Jackson, former UFC light heavyweight champion; born in Memphis *Samuel L. Jackson, actor *Mark Jacoby, performer *Claude Jarman Jr., actor *Jeff Jarrett, wrestler *Josh Jasper (born 1987), All-American college football player (placekicker) *Chad Jenkins, baseball player *John Jenkins, basketball player *William L. Jenkins, U.S. House of Representatives (R-TN-01) (1997–2007) *John Jerry, football player *Peria Jerry, football player *Michael Jeter, actor *Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States (1865–1869) *Thomas Johnson, football player *Cave Johnson, politician and U.S. Postmaster General (1865–1869) *Allan Jones, businessman and founder of Check Into Cash *Cherry Jones, actress *Christopher Jones, actor *Ed "Too Tall" Jones, football player *Jesse Holman Jones, politician *Popeye Jones, basketball player *Van Jones, environmental advocate *Caleb Joseph, baseball player K *Josh Kear, songwriter *Estes Kefauver, U.S. Senator *David Keith, actor *Frank B. Kelso II, admiral *K.Michelle, singer *Kem, singer *Tony Kemp, baseball player *Kesha, singer *Daniel Kilgore, football player *Johnny Knoxville, actor *Bill Kovach, journalist *Joseph Wood Krutch, naturalist L *Dan Landrum, hammered-dulcimer player *Walter Lang, film director *Lucille La Verne, actress *Jerry "The King" Lawler, professional wrestler *William P. Lawrence, U.S. Navy Vice admiral (United States) *Arthur Lee, musician *Clyde Lee, basketball player *Kai-Fu Lee, Google executive *Adriane Lenox, actress *Steve Liddle, baseball coach *Sondra Locke, actress *Z. Alexander Looby, lawyer *Horace Harmon Lurton, Supreme Court justice *Dustin Lynch, singer *Andrew Nelson Lytle, novelist M *Jean (Faircloth) MacArthur, heiress, wife of General Douglas MacArthur *"Uncle Dave" Macon, musician and comedian *Bill Madlock, baseball player *Matt Mahaffey, musician *Johnny Majors, football coach *Delbert Mann, screenwriter and director *Shawn Marion, basketball player *Sterling Marlin, two-time Daytona 500 winner *Wink Martindale, television personality *Shaq Mason, football player *Christopher Massey, actor, rapper *Mike Massey, professional pool player *Matthew Fontaine Maury, oceanographer, astronomer *William Gibbs McAdoo, politician *Hill McAlister, governor *Macon McCalman, actor *Cormac McCarthy, novelist *Tim McCarver, baseball player and broadcaster *Ted McClain, basketball player *Jacques McClendon, football player *Michael McDonald, singer *Brownie McGhee, musician *Stick McGhee, musician *Ralph McGill, journalist *Kenneth McKellar, politician *Reggie McKenzie, football player and executive *Bill McKinney, basketball player *Jon Meacham, publishing executive *Jodie Meeks, basketball player *Edward J. Meeman, journalist *Ron Mercer, basketball player *Cary Middlecoff, golfer *Jerry Minor, actor *Mike Minor, baseball pitcher *John Mitchell, baseball pitcher *Chris Moneymaker, poker player; from Knoxville *Ashley Monroe, singer *Grace Moore, opera soprano *Shelly Moore, Miss Teen USA 1997 *Craig Morgan, singer *Lorrie Morgan, singer *Bryan Morris, baseball player *Gideon Morris, trans-Appalachian pioneer and founder of Morristown, Tennessee *Ricky Morton, wrestler *Anson Mount, writer *James Cole Mountflorence, 19th-century diplomat *Mary Noailles Murfree *Robert Myers, football player N *Elise Neal, actress *Patricia Neal, Academy Award-winning actress *Lindsey Nelson, sportscaster *Johnny Neumann, basketball player *Josef Newgarden, Indy Car driver *Robert Neyland, UT Vols football coach, namesake for Neyland Stadium *Alfred O. P. Nicholson, politician *Bishop James Daniel Niedergeses, clergyman *Kenneth Nixon, musician O *Adolph Ochs, publisher *Oconostota *Joe O'Donnell, photojournalist *Michael Oher, football player *Joe Oliver, baseball player *Frank Omiyale, football player *Randall Keith Orton, professional wrestler *Claude Osteen, baseball pitcher *Jimmy Outlaw, baseball player *Park Overall, actress *Major Owens, politician P *Bettie Page, model *John Palmer, television journalist *Matt Palmer, baseball pitcher *Hermes Pan, choreographer *Paramore, four members from Franklin *Cindy Parlow, soccer player and coach *Chris Parnell, comedian *Wes Parsons, baseball pitcher *Hope Partlow, singer *Dolly Parton, singer and actress *Randy Parton, singer *Stella Parton, actress *Elizabeth Patterson, actress *Quinton Patton, NFL player *Cameron Payne, NBA player *Minnie Pearl, comedian and Grand Ole Opry star *Puggy Pearson, professional poker player *Chad Pennington, NFL player *Sydney Penny, actress *Carl Perkins, musician *John J. Pettus, 23rd Governor of Mississippi (1859–1863) *John M. Pickard, actor *Vada Pinson, baseball player *Dontari Poe, NFL player *James K. Polk, 11th President of the United States (1845–1849) *Leonidas Polk, bishop *Sarah Childress Polk, First Lady of the United States, wife of President James K. Polk *Drew Pomeranz, baseball pitcher *James D. Porter, governor *Annie Potts, actress *Elvis Presley, "king of rock and roll", actor *David Price, baseball pitcher *Tommy Prothro, football coach *Will Provine, historian of science *Missi Pyle, actress and singer Q *DJ Qualls, actor *Jimmy Quillen, politician R *Dave Ramsey, author, motivational speaker *John Rankin, abolitionist *John Crow Ransom, educator and critic *Isaiah Rashad, rapper and songwriter *Wendell Rawls, Jr., journalist *Robbie Ray, baseball player *Sam Rayburn, politician *J. J. Redick, basketball player *B. Carroll Reece *Florence Patton Reece, folk singer *Jerry Reese, football executive *Brad Renfro, actor *Garrett Reynolds, football player *Grantland Rice, sportswriter * Herb Rich (1928–2008), 2x All-Pro NFL football player *John S. Roane, 4th Governor of Arkansas (1849–1852) *Lee Roberson, educator *Rick Roberson, basketball player *Albert H. Roberts, governor *James Robertson, explorer *Oscar Robertson, basketball player *Pat Robertson, televangelist *Charles P. Roland, historian *John Ross, Cherokee chief *Mitch Rouse, actor and director *Vic Rouse, basketball player *Mason Rudolph, golfer *Wilma Rudolph, athlete, Olympic gold medalist *Campy Russell, basketball player *Fred Russell, sportswriter *Thomas Clarke Rye, governor S *Christine Sadler, journalist *Shane Salerno, screenwriter *Chip Saltsman, politician *William Sanderson, actor, Newhart, Deadwood, True Blood *Clarence Saunders, grocer *Dan Schneider, television producer *Aaron Schoenfeld (born 1990), Major League Soccer player *Tom Schulman, screenwriter *John T. Scopes, schoolteacher *Alvin Scott, basketball player *Hillary Scott, lead singer of Lady Antebellum *Josey Scott, lead singer of Saliva *Rhea Seddon, astronaut *John Seigenthaler, television journalist *John Michael Seigenthaler, television journalist *Gerald Sensabaugh, football player *Dewitt Clinton Senter, governor *Sequoyah *John Sevier, one of Tennessee's founding fathers *Paul Shanklin, satirist *Vicellous Reon Shannon, actor, The Hurricane, ''24'' Season 1 *Cybill Shepherd, actress *William Shepherd, astronaut *T. G. Sheppard, singer *George Sherrill, baseball pitcher *John K. Shields, U.S. Senator *Dinah Shore, singer, actress and television personality *Daniel Simberloff, biologist *Benjamin "Pap" Singleton, activist *Jonathan Singleton, singer-songwriter *Bessie Smith, singer *Bingo Smith, basketball player *Brent Smith, lead singer of Shinedown *Daniel Smith, surveyor *Lane Smith, actor *Lee Smith, football player *Rachel Smith, Miss USA 2007 *Bobby Sowell (born 1947), musician, songwriter *Richard Speight, Jr., actor *Steve Spurrier, football coach *Andrew Stevens, actor and producer *Tom Stewart, U.S. Senator *James Stone, football player *John M. Stone, politician *Harry Stonecipher, aviation executive *Thomas S. Stribling, writer *Samuel Stritch, archbishop *Pat Summitt, basketball coach *Frank Sutton, actor *Grady Sutton, actor *Lynn Swann, football player *Taylor Swift, singer-songwriter and record producer *Austin Swift, actor, brother of Taylor Swift T *George Taliaferro, football player *Edward Talley, soldier; Medal of Honor recipient *Roscoe Tanner, tennis player *James Tappan (1825–1906), politician, lawyer, and Confederate general; born in Franklin *Quentin Tarantino, film director, actor, and screenwriter; born in Knoxville *Allen Tate, poet *Golden Tate, football player *Alfred A. Taylor, governor *Jordan Taylor, youtuber *Peter Taylor, author *Robert Love Taylor, governor and U.S. Senator *Jamie Teachenor, singer-songwriter *Three 6 Mafia *Jake Thomas, actor *Hugh F. Thomason (1826–1893), politician; born in Smith County *Fred Dalton Thompson, politician and actor *Faye Throneberry, baseball player *Marv Throneberry, baseball player *Isaac Tigrett, businessman, founder of Hard Rock Cafe *Justin Timberlake, singer and actor *Mageina Tovah, actress; Joan of Arcadia, the ''Spider-Man'' films *Andrew Triggs, baseball player *Elston Turner, basketball player *Tina Turner, singer *Peter Turney, governor U *Usher, entertainer V *Gore Verbinski, actor and director *Lark Voorhies, actress W *Bill Wade, football player *Leon Wagner, baseball player *Barbara Jo Walker, Miss America 1947 *William Walker, lawyer, journalist *Randall Wallace, screenwriter and director *Herbert S. Walters, U.S. Senator *Darrell Waltrip, auto racer, winner of 1989 Daytona 500 *Calvin Ward, soldier; Medal of Honor recipient *Koko B. Ware, professional wrestler *Taylor Ware, singer *William W. Watkins (1826–1898), politician; born in Jefferson County *Cameron Watson, actor and director *Robert Penn Warren, author *David Weathers, baseball pitcher *Lucy Webb, comedian *Ida B. Wells, journalist (Originally from Mississippi) *Kitty Wells, singer *Scott Wells, football player *David West, baseball pitcher *Red West, stuntman, actor, associate of Elvis Presley *James Westerfield, actor *Kent Whitaker, culinary writer, chef (born in Kentucky, raised in Nashville) *Hugh Lawson White, politician *Reggie White, football player, Hall of Famer *Ed Whitson, baseball pitcher *John S. Wilder, politician *Snootie Wild, rapper *Dan Williams, football player *Elliot Williams, basketball player *Hayley Williams, singer for Paramore (originally from Mississippi) *Louis Williams, basketball player *Shawne Williams, basketball player *Sonny Boy Williamson, blues musician *Patrick Willis, football player *Cedrick Wilson, football player *E. Bright Wilson, chemist *Oprah Winfrey, talk show host, actress, producer (originally from Mississippi) *Don Wise, saxophonist, music producer, songwriter *Tim Wise, activist *Reese Witherspoon, Academy Award-winning actress *Jason Witten, football player, Dallas Cowboys *Brandan Wright, basketball player *Clyde Wright, baseball pitcher *K. J. Wright, football player Y *Alvin York, World War I soldier who captured 132 Germans almost single-handedly, Sergeant York *Taylor York, guitarist *Young Buck, rapper *Chris Young, singer, winner of Nashville Star *Thaddeus Young, basketball player Z *Chris Zachary, baseball player *Felix Zollicoffer, American Civil War general, congressman Fictional characters *Anthony Stark See also ;by educational institution affiliation * List of Baylor School alumni * List of leaders of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga * List of Sewanee: The University of the South people * List of Tennessee State University presidents * List of University of Memphis people * List of University of Tennessee people * List of Vanderbilt University people ;by governmental office * List of Governors of Tennessee * List of Justices of the Tennessee Supreme Court * List of lieutenant governors of Tennessee * List of Speakers of the Tennessee House of Representatives * List of United States Senators from Tennessee * List of United States Representatives from Tennessee ;by location * List of people from Chattanooga, Tennessee * List of people from Knoxville, Tennessee * List of people from Memphis, Tennessee * List of people from Nashville, Tennessee References Category:Lists *